Tempest Sea
by Blazichu
Summary: Link and Tetra are still on their quest to find New Hyrule, but after an encounter of the deathly sort, find themselves upon sailing unfamiliar waters, fleeing from the dreaded Ghost Ship. -Awaiting revision-
1. Hyrule's Bloody Path

Okay, everyone. Just a few words before you begin. This story runs as a parallel to _Phantom Hourglass_ so there are spoilers for both _The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass **and** The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. _It is in no way, shape, or form a novelization, though it will have similar (sometimes identical) events, and Phantom Hourglass characters will play major roles.

Disclaimer: This aspiring author has never, nor will she ever, own _The Legend of Zelda_.

* * *

The pirate crew had just come ashore several hours previous, mapping out the island, searching for anything out of the ordinary; well, several hours later, here he was, elected to explore the 'out of the ordinary'-which was, in reality, a rather deep, and very dark hole-more thoroughly, his captain right beside him. 

Link squinted into the darkness surrounding the pair of pirates, struggling to make anything out. He found something, almost immediately, as he tripped over… well…something. And by the sound of things, Tetra was having similar troubles… if the annoyed grunt from across the room was anything to judge by…

Several more minutes went by, with the two stumbling around blindly, before…

"Link!" Tetra snapped from somewhere behind the hero, causing him to jump. "You're the one who looted all those other temples-"

He grimaced at the wording…after all he _meant _to return the artifacts used in his quest…but seeing as they had yet to find new Hyrule…well, what was the harm…? Now wasn't the time for excuses, though, was it? Not while Tetra was still talking…

"-why don't you make yourself useful and find a way to _light up this goddess forsaken chamber!"_

The hero rolled his eyes, how very insightful of his supposed captain….

Almost automatically, he drew two arrows from his quiver, and- calling upon the magic granted to him by the Fairy Queen-lit the arrow heads. Idly, he waved one in Tetra's general direction, and almost immediately felt it being snatched away. He chuckled dryly, and started toward the 'door' opposite the opening they'd arrived in, pirate captain not far behind.

It was a strange room, he reflected. Granted, he'd seen many a puzzle with _x_ amount of torches that-presumably- needed to be lit, but so many in such a confined space? Odd… And then there was that door…it was actually a stone tablet, with a hole smashed clear through. Now, he was an adventurer, not a genius, but even his thirteen year old mind could figure out that they weren't the first to venture down this pit.

It was only one turn later that they faced the second of what Link assumed were supposed to be obstacles. In front of them lie a rather short- but very deep- pit; and on the other side-as he was not at all surprised to find- plain as day was a target for a hookshot…

He handed the flaming arrow to Tetra, before pulling that very device from his satchel and taking careful aim. As planned, the tool extended, and found a solid hold on the target.

Link smirked, looking back at the pirate captain and extending his free hand.

"Coming?"

She rolled her eyes, taking the proffered hand, and within seconds, they were safely on the other side of the chasm…

And right in front of one of the most disturbing walls she'd ever seen. An almost skeletal face, set in stone, sneered at the children. On an impulse, Tetra decided to reach out and touch it…only to fall straight through said 'wall'…

She could hear her companion laughing behind her, as he pulled the pirate up to her feet. Tetra quickly snatched her arm away, shoving one of the still flaming arrows into what she hoped was his face.

Both adventurers blinked, taking in the atmosphere of this new setting… Everything was stone, and not far away stood an unlit torch. Grumbling, Tetra set off to light it, leaving Link to whatever he was doing.

What previously mentioned hero was doing, in fact, was examining one of the pillars in front of himself…not that he had smacked head first into it, because that had certainly _not_ been the case…Holding the arrow above his head- he _wasn't_ too proud to admit that many of the obstacles he'd faced in the past had been taller than him-the hylian's eyes widened. Several feet above the arrow was a giant skull, eye sockets the size of both his fists put together; and, he noted- as Tetra successfully lit the torch- there were five more, creating a hexagon around an elaborate, but ruined statue of goddesses knew what.

Across the room, Tetra groaned. What seemed to be the only path forward was blocked by- who would have guessed- another bottomless pit. The problem here? There was no hookshot target _anywhere_ in sight.

"Well…" She said, turning back to her companion-who was now surveying the rest of the room. "We're not going _that_ way."

"What? You thought the path would be straight forward?" Link asked, shaking his head wearily. "These temples _never_ go where you want them to."

He sighed, before pointing to part of a far wall, a wall with another face imprinted into its design. "What do you want to bet one of these leads the way?"

Tetra shrugged, holding her arrow out in front of herself like a torch. Needless to say, she was surprised when it collided with the wall, instead of passing through. So not all of these things were passages, eh? She almost yelled out to Link, before a little thing called 'payback' told her _precisely_ how to exact revenge upon a certain hero…

"Hey Link!" She shouted, trying desperately to keep from grinning. "Come take a look at this!"

As predicted, the green-clad hylian came running…until that running ran straight into the wall. Unable to contain herself, Tetra cracked up, leaning against the unidentifiable statue for support as Link stood up, rubbing his forehead, glaring at the pirate captain.

"If the queen of comedy is done, I believe I've found the way forward." He grunted sourly, headed back in the direction he'd come from.

Tetra-still grinning- just shrugged and followed him through the not-so-solid barrier…and right into the very solid boy she'd just tricked.

Why were they running into so many things in this dumb old pit, anyway? Was it because it was so dark?

Tetra didn't get to finish the thought, though; as she quickly found out why Link hadn't gone further.

They were inside of what was undoubtedly a maze, with the same wall _everywhere_. It was impossible to see any difference between the one they'd just emerged from, which they could still identify- being right in front of it- _thank the goddesses!_

Link grimaced. So this place was like the Earth Temple, huh? He pulled a nearby pot into a position in front of the wall, and drew two more arrows, handing his original to Tetra once more. This time, he enchanted one with a light spell, thrusting the tail end down into the pot, so a beam shone onto the ceiling like a beacon; before freezing the entire thing with an ice arrow.

The crystal-like ice sent the beams of light in every direction. Now if that didn't catch their attention in the dank cavern, he didn't know what would.

Taking back his arrow- which wouldn't hold a proverbial candle to the light spilling from the pot- Link glanced back at Tetra.

"Who says I'm not smart?"

The captain rolled her eyes. "Well then, let's get going boy wonder." She grumbled, headed off without saying another word.

Link- who had taken to observing the walls again- shrugged, and followed her example, squinting suspiciously at a design closer to himself.

It wasn't until several minutes later that he realized the light he had been following was reflected from the ice, and that now he was quite alone…

The young hero groaned, leaning against a nearby wall and- predictably, by now- falling through it. He sat up, leaning against an actual _non-decorated_, _stone_ wall between the one he'd just collapsed through, and another identical one on the other side of the short corridor.

His head tipped back and his eyes closed in an effort to calm himself and find a way out of this mess. Well, Tetra would…_n't see the way forward… _

What?

Link shook his head. Surely, Tetra would return to the…

…What in the name of Hyrule was that noise?

Focus. Link told himself. _Tetra will go back to the beacon, when she realizes I'm not following her. I just need to retrace my steps and-_

Again, the noise came, interrupting his thoughts…only this time he could hear…words…

"…ill will…" The…voices... seemed to whisper… 

It was only a matter of seconds before they returned, louder than before.

"What is hidden in darkness…" The disembodied voice hissed, almost directly in his ear. 

"_Tricks full of ill will!" _Cackled the same voice, on his other side.

"Can you see the way forward?" It enquired, Link opened his eyes, glaring accusingly into the nothing in front of him…Strange, he'd been sure it was just Tetra, 'punishing' him for getting lost. 

Link pushed himself up, off the wall; rotating on the spot, holding his makeshift torch out to illuminate the entire room. No pirate. Anywhere.

The young hylian had to stop himself from biting his lip.

Which passage had he fallen through?

Well, that doesn't make a difference. He figured. _If it's the wrong passage, then I just head through the other one…_

Before he could stop himself, he answered the voices.

"No," He said, more calmly than he felt. "I can't see the way forward, but that won't stop me from getting there."

And with that, he walked through the wall.

-------------------------

Tetra huffed. "Dead end" She announced, unnecessarily. It was plain to see that there was nowhere left in front of the pirate to explore…but, had she been looking, she'd have realized that there was nobody to announce that ground breaking concept _to_…

The pirate shook her head, without turning around. "Jeeze Link." She moaned to the silence. "The silent treatment isn't going to get you anywhere. Grow up, would you?"

She peered intently at a small plaque, the one thing that made this wall different from any of the others.

Shadow Temple

Here lies Hyrule's bloody past

Of greed and hatred

Tetra whirled around, only to face the empty maze. Finally, the gravity of the situation hit her.

She'd managed to lose her traveling companion

In a maze filled with illusions

Inside the death trap of Ancient Hyrule

Goddesses help us…

-------------------------

The chamber Link walked into was definitely not the one he'd been hoping for; though it was a break in the pattern he'd been seeing thus far. The ceiling of the room must have had a hole in it, or something, as a weak light was trickling down into it.

That wasn't the only thing, though. Six thin pillars stood in a hexagonal arrangement around the room. Link cursed his lack of foresight. He should have taken a better look around that first room…

Though, looking at the arrangement, it was very obvious that this was hardly an exact replica of that room… The chamber itself was round, for one thing, and not composed of stone… It was a muddy brown color, which meant that it was most likely dirt.

Plus those pillars were white, not black, and much, much thinner than the ones he'd seen earlier.

He lifted his arrow to look at the top of the nearest pillar. No. That definitely wasn't a skull…it was more of a-

In a lightning fast movement, the pillar shot forward and…snatched…the flaming arrow away, before casting it across the room.

Before Link could react, another pillar caught him around the head.

…It was more of a hand…

He could feel claw-like nails sticking into his skull, fingers finding a better grip around his neck. The appendage forced his head down, and his eyes widened at the sight below.

His gaze met the empty sockets of a nameless face, embedded into the ground…there were…hundreds of them…

It was several moments before he realized that he couldn't breathe.

Not in the dramatic sense, though it would have been quite fitting. No, the sensation would be due to the hand clutching at his throat, strangling him.

The next few moments passed in a haze, his vision quickly faded, until his eyes were as useful as a cucco in a field of bombflowers, and he was left with his other, more reliable-though still impaired- senses.

Link felt his head being tipped upwards, and the pressure on his throat lessen for a moment. Distantly, he thought he heard something…something…maybe someone… moving. Sort of a scuffle…

Then the strangest sensation…before complete agony- as though every wound he'd ever received had been reopened- and blackness.

-------------------------

Tetra tore through the maze at an alarming speed, bellowing Link's name every few steps. She'd passed the crystalline marker at least five times already!

There must have been a path…

She kept one arm steady against the right hand wall as she took another lap. Her calls still went unanswered, but despite that, she was in luck. Her hand went straight through one of the walls, and the pirate immediately ran through it and the second wall like it, into a dimly lit chamber…

* * *

Hope you've enjoyed the first chapter of _Tempest Sea_. Reviews would be appreciated; constructive critisism or whatever you care to offer. 


	2. What is Hidden in Darkness

Hmm...yeah. Sorry for the wait. I hope this makes it worth your while...

* * *

Tetra squinted through the darkness of the new chamber; it seemed several times thicker, hanging around her like a fog in this one room when compared to the rest of the temple.

Her attention snapped to the one source of illumination- save for the meager rays that fell from the ceiling- in the otherwise murky cavern; a small flame, flickering weakly on the far side of the room, casting it's light far enough to reveal the shaft of an arrow attached to it.

The pirate's eyes narrowed further.

_Why in Din's name is that here? _

She took a few cautious steps forward, glancing about the room. _If this is Link's idea of a prank…_ the mental threat was left to hang ominously in the depths of her mind.

Tetra blinked several times as her eyes began to adjust to the lack of light. _Finally_, she thought, taking in the room around her and freezing in her tracks.

She had finally found her companion, albeit under very different circumstances than she'd hoped. Come to think of it, she'd expected to find the green-clad hylian completely lost, grinning at her sheepishly, awaiting a scolding; what she found was completely different.

What Tetra had originally assumed to be a stone pillar was a thin arm protruding from the ground, hand clamped around her helpless companion's throat.

There was really only one thing that she could do in that position.

The pirate leapt into action, tugging at the appendage, but to no avail. She could just make out Link's glassy jade gaze, staring listlessly ahead, into the darkness. The only comfort she found was in the slight rise and fall of his chest and the ghost of a breath against her weathered skin.

Just seconds later, she was snatched away by a neighboring limb, caught securely not by the neck but by her forearm which meant she had a first row seat to see the…_thing_ appear.

Pale as death with purple splotches marring the luminescent 'flesh' like the plague, eye sockets empty and foreboding-dark as the chamber itself- it sprung from the ground. Disregarding the six appendages stationed throughout the room, the creature had neither hands nor feet; instead thick, stump-like excuses for arms led down to a single blood-red talon each and a skirt-like base supported it.

It glanced about the room, non-existent eyes taking in the surroundings before it's foul jaws parted, revealing a mouthful of sharp yellowing teeth, displayed in a truly sickening grin. With extreme purpose, the creature made its way toward the original catch, pausing only as Tetra's struggling became more frantic. Slowly, the being turned its head toward the pirate, smirk widening as it tilted aforementioned head, seeming to ask _'If you don't like this, then what are you going to do about it?' _There was, of course, nothing that Tetra _could_ do in this position, despite the arm's fragile appearance it was incredibly strong, and nearly impossible to break free of its grip. Broad grin still in place, the thing continued its slow progress, leaning down so it was practically face-to-face with the small hero.

It reached out, the talon doing no more than tapping Link on the forehead, though it had to have done more than that. His previously limp form tensed up before crumpling into the creature's waiting stumps; the pillar-like arm had set its captive free.

Tetra scowled at the thing, but set her gaze on the arrow she still held. This was a creature of darkness, right? Light dispelled the dark, if not for more than a moment; and it wasn't as though she'd never harnessed the magic of light…

Correction- Princess Zelda had been the one to use light arrows in a battle against the corrupt lord, Ganon, once upon a time. She, Tetra- as she was constantly reminding her crew- was _not_ Princess Zelda. But still, it was worth a shot…right?

Almost immediately, the already burning arrow in her hand glowed one thousand times brighter, warm, golden light spilling out from its tip. In the back of her mind, the pirate could hear her green garbed companion cheerfully saying "You're right, you aren't princess Zelda, you're better"; but didn't dwell on the distracting (if not wholly satisfying) thought.

Whatever that thing was, it shrunk back from the pure magic, dropping the seemingly lifeless body it had been holding unceremoniously to the ground in its hurry to get away. The hand that had clamped onto her arm released its grip, disappearing back into the ground; Tetra was free from the beast's clutches. Free to do as she wished with the monster in question.

Her course of action was not as violent as one might expect from a pirate- this one in particular- but she was not 'fighting' to exact revenge, just to drive the thing away. It only took two more steps in its general direction, and the undead creature turned tail and fled back into the grimy brown ground it had sprung from.

She wasted no time, quickly returning to the spot where her green-clad companion had been cast aside. He was still unconscious- not that she expected any different- but Tetra did her best to get him out of the room, finally resorting to carrying him, with the boy slung awkwardly over her shoulder.

As swiftly as possible, she retraced their steps, back out into the main room of the temple and to the entrance hall; which was where a problem presented itself. The pit. She could get herself across just fine; but how to transport an unconscious hylian past it…

Idly, she brushed at something that was poking into her arm uncomfortably, giving it a dirty look once the act didn't do anything. Upon setting sight on it, Tetra's eyes brightened; Link had tucked the Wind Waker into his belt. If memory served, there was a song he'd played several times; a curious melody that allowed the conductor to guide another's body along, like a puppet master and his marionette. But he'd played so many tunes on the blasted baton, how was she supposed to remember which was which? Carefully, the pirate set her comrade down, leaning him against a (solid) nearby wall, and began experimenting with the conductor's baton.

Tetra knew that the first one was wrong the moment she tried it; the tune was familiar, but something about the way it was played was off…

The second was completely off the mark, it had somehow morphed into a lullaby her mother used to sing…

The third went the same way as the second, but was interrupted by a low moan from beside the pirate; who immediately spun around, fearing for the worst. She was surprised to find Link awake, even if he only had one emerald eye cracked open.

"Thank the goddesses" Tetra breathed, "Link, you fool! Do you realize how-"

The pirate cut herself off, she'd be able to chew him out later, right now, they needed to get out of here before the…whatever it was came back.

"Can you stand?" She asked, much more gently.

Link closed his eyes again, and began to speak- only to be caught up in a horrible, hacking coughing fit. Mutely, he shook his head, and got the coughing under control. Tetra turned her gaze to the opposite wall, maybe if he could just hold onto her arm…

"Left, center, right, center" Came a nearly inaudible whisper.

She turned to find the hero watching her with one eye, the other still shut; he had noticed the baton that she held in her hand. The pirate blinked, stunned. From what she'd gathered, having another control one's body was not a pleasant experience. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the wand's very master trusted her with its power.

Link leaned back against the wall, trembling, as Tetra followed his directions; waving the baton first to the left, the center, right and to the center once more. The result was something neither hylian had been expecting; be it because they had never used the Wind Waker, or never had the baton used on them.

Tetra found herself staring at the blank wall across from herself…sort of, she realized with a jolt. The shock of finding that this small (not that she should have been talking…) but powerful body under her complete control was overridden, however, once the splitting pain in her head introduced itself. Not only that…her throat burned, inside and out..._everything_ hurt… And before she knew it, there she was, gazing at the hookshot target across the gap once again.

"What just _happened?_" The pirate captain snapped, more harshly than she meant to, due to confusion.

Link didn't look like he'd moved at all, even after the minor ordeal. His eyes were still shut, he was learning against the stone wall, still shivering. Weakly, he shook his head.

"Not…supposed to work…like that…." He whispered again, pausing for a moment, presumably to keep from coughing. "Wind Waker...probably won't accept you…"

One hand fell across his wrist, and Link opened his eyes again, setting to work on removing something from said wrists. Curiously, Tetra made her way over to the boy; taken aback as something glinting golden in the feeble light was presented to her.

Needless to say, she was a bit confused upon finding the 'object' to be a pair of bracelets.

"…Power bracelets…help with strength…"

The real shocker came several seconds later, though; as the hero sagged against Tetra's shoulder, asleep once more. Tetra shook her head, putting the bracelets on and picking her comrade up experimentally; stunned when she found the act no more difficult than lifting a cucco...provided said cucco _wanted_ to be picked up...

The pirate captain rolled her eyes at her own wandering thoughts and aimed the hookshot, firing it but a moment later. With only one more room to go, Tetra cautiously maneuvered her way through the darkness, nearly tripping over the pedestal in the center of the room but making it to the temple's entrance without any further mishaps.

The salty breeze that greeted her was a welcome change from the temple's musty air, though Tetra was mildly surprised to find that night had fallen during their...adventure in the Shadow Temple. She sighed, the only thing left to do was head back to the ship, but the day was finally catching up with her and the pirate suddenly found herself becoming light headed...

_Just a break_, Tetra assured herself, finding shelter in a covered area nearby, _I just need to rest my eyes_. The captain was sound asleep within moments, hand clamped firmly around her unconcious companion's wrist.

But that night was quite odd, in more than one way...while the stars glowed just as brightly as ever, and the moon shone in the sky, they found rivalry beneath the ruined Kakariko's very own windmill, and far, far away on the open sea. One would find that, leagues away, the subject of many more nightmares bobbed merrily along -despite the fact that its cousin had been vanquished in this very sea.

That night, beneath Hyrule's moon, the true terror of the ocean voyaged, catching sight of a beacon no mortal could hope to see... The beacon that shone from Kakariko's ruins, and drew the apparition with promises of a grand light, unprotected and ready to be snatched away.

That night, the Ghost Ship set sail once more.

* * *

I'm worried about this chapter for a whole list of reasons... I won't go into detail right here because that would be boring. (MORE boring, anyway)...In other news- it may take awhile for another update...my apologies. I wish I could come up with something witty to say, but it doesn't seem to be happening today. xD  
Here's a question: Had enough of the Shadow Temple quotes yet?


End file.
